Rabindra Bharati University (RBU) officers have decided not to accept additional responsibilities vested on them by the university authorities from April to protest its failure to fill up the posts of officers lying vacant for the past few years. The decision was taken recently at a meeting of the RBU Officers’ Association, held on the B.T. Road campus.

Almost all the officers are over-burdened, they claim, as each has to look after more than one department. For example, Amit Mukherjee is audit and accounts officer, but doubles as finance officer. Registrar Santosh Kumar Ghorui would look after the engineering department as there was no full-time engineer in the university. Suranjana Bhattacharjee, public relations officer, officiates as development officer. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to look after two or more departments and we have informed the vice-chancellor of our problems,” said an officer.

Ghorui, who is also an executive member of the Association, urged the vice-chancellor to initiate steps to fill the vacant posts of officers without delay. The officers have also decided not to meet any delegation, either from the students or employees, after the nightlong gherao of the university sports officer by students.

Vice-chancellor Bharati Mukherjee admitted that one or two key posts were lying vacant. “But we can’t do anything immediately because we will require the state government’s consent for filling the posts,” she added.

“No officer will meet any delegation or receive any memorandum on behalf of the university. In case any person or persons try to enter the chambers of any officer without permission and forcibly try to prevent him from discharging his duties, all the officers will stop work immediately and will not be responsible for any consequences,” said the resolution adopted at the recent meeting of the officers.

The university officers have taken exception to the gherao of the sports officer. They are worried as no action has been initiated against the students. “Our security is at stake and we are not getting any effective response from the authorities regarding our safety and security during our stay on the campus,” said a senior officer of the university.

The officers are also aggrieved over the vice-chancellor’s recent circular, which instructed them to keep her office informed in case of any officer leaving the campus either on official or personal grounds on any working day. “Such instructions were given only to the officers and we consider it derogatory and humiliating. We have urged her to withdraw the circular,” said an officer, on condition of anonymity.